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Steve Sanchez
602-267-1733 Ext. 205
steve@heartsofstone.org
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Casa de Sueños:
In 2002 Hearts of Stone looked to invent itself five years into the future. In that invention the creation of the first international Hearts of Stone project transpired. It was through this project, the Pura Vida No Pro Surfing Contest held in Jaco Beach, Costa Rica, that the organization learned first-hand about the plight of orphans and abandoned children and the mission “to develop the entrepreneurialism in at-risk children and to transform the organizations that support them” first began to cultivate.
Founder, Steve Sanchez, was eventually introduced to the director of Hospico de Huérfanos de San Jose (a Costa Rican orphanage established in 1886). In Costa Rica, current conditions mandate that at the age of 18 the government consider these children to be autonomous and capable of living on their own and they are no longer able to remain in the orphanage. They must leave the only secure home many of them have ever known. However, the reality is that portions of these teenagers are still children because they have not matured enough to survive on their own. Their fate is to be swallowed up by pornography, prostitution, drug abuse or worse yet, to completely disappear. Many times, at best, they are plagued to repeat the cycle of abandonment.
Recognizing the opportunity to do something for the children, Hearts of Stone, together with the staff and director of Hospico de Huérfanos implemented a comprehensive plan. This plan included a transitional facility, called Casa de Sueños (House of Dreams) that will provide critical assistance, oversight, and safety through empowerment, not entitlement.
In 2004 Hearts of Stone provided the down payment to purchase Casa de Sueños and we are continuing to raise money to pay for the home. We are teaching the children about entrepreneurialism by utilizing their everyday are and transforming it into saleable products such as ceramic tile murals and designs on clothing.
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